Looking Back at 2024: A Reporter’s Notebook

By James Careless

2024 was a busy time for FirstNet, and for this reporter at AllThingsFirstNet.com. I’ve covered many stories during the past 12 months. Here are some of the ones that jump out of my notebook for me, with the links to the original stories serving as headlines.

FirstNet’s $6.3 Billion 5G Network Upgrade: What It Means to Users

For FirstNet to keep serving public safety to the best of its ability, the network has to keep up with the times. This is why the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) Board’s January 29, 2024 approval of a full 5G upgrade to the FirstNet wireless network is such good news. By spending more than $8 billion on upgrading from 4G/LTE to 5G over the next ten years, FirstNet will be able to carry the full range of complex multimedia broadband applications that are available today and yet-to-be imagined for tomorrow. That’s something current 4G/LTE networks cannot do.

At the same time, the decades-long pace of these upgrades means that FirstNet 4G/LTE users won’t be left out in the cold. After all, this is FirstNet, not Microsoft with its enforced march to Windows 11. “4G/LTE equipment will not go obsolete right away,” said Jeff Bratcher, the FirstNet Authority’s Chief Network and Technology Officer. “Until then, FirstNet will be run using a dual mode core, so it will support 4G/LTE devices as well as 5G devices.

Getting the Most Out of FirstNet

I liked writing this story because it alerted me — and hopefully some readers — to all the things that FirstNet offers that can sometimes slip off the radar. This includes FirstNet Central, the secure, all-in-one, easy-to-use, personalized portal for FirstNet users. “We provide unprecedented system access to first responders, allowing them to see the status of the actual network and to receive alarms based on their locations using their own personalized online maps,” said Matt Walsh, AT&T’s Area Vice President for FirstNet Products and 911, in that original story. “Using this same application, they can overlay information such as weather, traffic conditions, location of critical assets, and current events.”

Another cool feature is the FirstNet Authority’s Network Experience Engagement Program (NEEP). This program helps FirstNet member agencies access the support they need to plan for reliable communications prior to major events and emergencies, and to assess how those plans fared after those events. NEEP also provides ‘exercise planning support’ through an available catalog of over 800 injects and questions to support including broadband capabilities in operational and discussion-based exercises. 

Finally, the FirstNet Authority even offers a free ‘CliffsNotes’-style guide for using FirstNet. The FirstNet Authority Emergency Management Resource Guide is a free 56-page PDF that covers all things FirstNet: What FirstNet is, how to deploy it, the mission-critical applications and deployables offered by the FirstNet Authority to member agencies, and FirstNet’s unique wireless network features. 

Agnew succeeds Bugel as AT&T’s President of FirstNet

2024 saw the retirement of AT&T FirstNet President Jim Bugel after 31 years on the job. (He was succeeded by Scott Agnew.) According to Bugel’s Farewell Speech, he was in Washington DC on 9/11 when the Pentagon got hit. “When I contacted Pentagon officials, White House staff, and Hill officials, they told me, ‘Look, we’ve got to have a way to communicate. The network’s congested!’,” said Bugel. “To help out, we at AT&T, carved out a small piece of our commercial spectrum and dedicated it to US officials for communication between DC and New York free of congestion. In a way, you could say, that’s where the idea of FirstNet was born.”

“We must be vigilant to ensure that FirstNet never falls into disrepair and always gets the resources that are needed — today and everyday going forward,” Bugel warned. “This means that first responders must keep telling Congress that they need FirstNet — you can’t operate without it. Otherwise, all that has been accomplished since 9/11 could be lost.”

Vision 2024 Was Time Well Spent

Yet again, the annual Vision FirstNet Users Summit held by the Public Safety Broadband Technology Association (PSBTA) was a major success! This year’s version, Vision 2024, was held at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas, October 7-10, 2024.

Fire Chief Richard Carrizzo, Past Chair of the FirstNet Authority Board, was one of those who went to Vegas for the summit. In speaking with me after the event, Chief Caririzzo described his attendance at Vision 2024 as time well spent. “The conference was well attended, with relevant speakers and presentations, lots of networking between individuals, cutting-edge technology that was being shown onsite, and tremendous excitement for everybody that was participating,” he said.

Vision 2025 has been recently announced. It will be held at the Westin Hotel located downtown Indianapolis, September 08-11. Mark my words: This summit is a must-attend event for FirstNet users, government, and industry experts, and equipment manufacturers and vendors. Basically, if you are reading this, you should be planning to be there.

4.9 GHz Incumbents: Act Now to Save Your FCC Licenses!

As readers of AllThingsFirstNet.com know, the 4.9 GHz band (4940–4990 MHz) is contested ground for public safety communications, with the Public Safety Spectrum Alliance (PSSA) leading the charge to keep it in first responders’ hands and have managed by the FirstNet Authority. The PSSA has strongly advocated for this spectrum to be protected for public safety, and this position is supported by the public safety community. On October 18, 2024, the FCC issued the Eighth Report & Order, which protects the 4.9 GHz spectrum for public safety, protects incumbents, and allows for the 4.9 GHz Band Manager to enter into a sharing agreement with FirstNet.

Well, on December 9, 2024, we posted a story entitled 4.9 GHz Incumbents: Act Now to Save Your FCC Licenses! In this story, we issued the following warning: “If your agency is using the 4.9 GHz band (4940–4990 MHz) for public safety communications under an FCC “PA” radio service code authorization, you need to send information about your usage to the FCC by June 9, 2025, or lose your license to do so.”

The article covers the details, but the warning is what I want to highlight yet again. You must follow up on this FCC requirement if you fit their qualifications or lose access to the 4.9 GHz band.

Looking ahead to 2025, I expect an equally eventful year for FirstNet and the thousands of public safety agencies who count on it for reliable wireless broadband communications. And remember, as Jim Bugel said: “When it comes to FirstNet’s future — it is yours to safeguard and preserve.”